The Heineken Cup

Whilst the fall-out from England’s woeful showing in New Zealand continues to dominate the news, the start of the Heineken Cup has proved to be a welcome distraction for fans in the past week, although a number of upsets may have caused a few headaches.

The likes of Leinster, Leicester and Toulouse led the Rugby betting before the tournament kicked-off and, whilst all three of those sides sit at the top of their respective pools, there have been a number of clubs that have really upset the applecart in the opening two match weekends.

Who, for example, would have had Edinburgh at the top of Pool Two following thrilling one-point wins over London Irish and Racing Metro? Which punters would have had Ospreys being held to a draw against the Italian side, Treviso? Did the punters really see Northampton, finalists last season, starting the campaign with two defeats from two?

The tightness of many of the Pools is making it difficult in the rugby betting markets, with some very strong teams grouped together in the early stages. Gloucester were expected to challenge much more strongly in Pool Six against Toulouse and Harlequins whilst Pool Five, with Saracens, Ospreys and Biarritz all coming into the tournament with strong European pedigree. Edinburgh’s surprise start will make Pool Two interesting, and Pool One could still be interesting if Northampton can put a run of results together.

The next round of matches, which will bring us to the half-way point in the pool stage, will be crucial on the road to Twickenham, with Scarlets v Munster, Cardiff v Edinburgh, Saracens v Ospreys and Harlequins v Toulouse likely to be the matches that really stand out on the rugby betting coupon. There’s very little to call in the outright market, with the likes of Leicester, Munster, Clermont and Saracens all grouped tightly together, making this a crucial few weeks in European rugby’s premier club competition.